New Oakley Kroger will be region's largest

A new Kroger grocery store will soon join the Cinemark Oakley Station and XD movie theater in the Oakley Station development, the former Cincinnati Milacron site at Marburg and Ibsen avenues.(Photo: Tony Tribble/contributor)

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The largest Kroger Marketplace in Greater Cincinnati is expected to open at the Oakley Station development next year.

The owners of the sprawling retail, office and residential project said Monday they'd closed a deal with Kroger for construction of the 145,000-square-foot store, which has been touted as a key anchor to the development for more than a year.

The Kroger Marketplace will be the second largest in the grocer's chain nationally, behind only a store in Centerville, Ohio, which opened last year.

"It's tremendously important," said Mike Halonen, a broker with Edge Real Estate Group, which is handling retail, restaurant and residential leasing at the site. "Kroger generates more frequent trips than a lot of other anchors we could have put there.

"That type of use is very important to the success of the rest of the development."

The new Kroger Marketplace is expected to feature home fashions and decor, a pharmacy and other amenities, in addition to the traditional grocery. A Kroger fuel station also is expected near the store.

Halonen said much of the preliminary site work, such as grading and utilities, already is complete. Construction of the store is expected to be finished by next spring.

Halonen said he expects negotiations with other potential tenants at the 74-acre Oakley Station development to accelerate now that the Kroger deal is done. He said about 40 prospects have requested proposals, received proposals or are in negotiations for space at the site.

The project ultimately will include nine or 10 free-standing retailers or restaurants, three or four multi-tenant buildings and about 40,000 square feet of retail space adjacent to Kroger.

A Cinemark theater and apartment buildings with about 300 units already are open at Oakley Station.